The Christmas holidays are upon us. While I'm sure a lot of people are planning to spend them in the warm embrace of family and friends, some of us prefer the coolness of a completely empty house that we never, ever have to leave again.

Predicting the future is near impossible -- but that doesn‘t stop us all from having a red hot go. Human beings have been predicting the future since the beginning of history and the results range from the hilarious to the downright uncanny.

One thing all future predictions have in common: they‘re rooted in our current understanding of how the world works. It‘s difficult to escape that mindset. We have no idea how technology will evolve, so our ideas are connected to the technology of today.

We all have a friend who collects vinyl. At first, you may have judged them for their perceived "hipster nonsense", but I'll bet you've come around. I see you spying on new record players, figuring out how to get started. And that artwork. It's stunning, and honestly a reason all on its own to invest in the hobby. You know this.

But what better way to avoid having to admit you've fallen head first into the retro trap than to gift those awesome looking (and sounding) albums you've found online to a loved one? If you need some inspiration, here's a list of our favourite six released in 2016.

All things must come to an end, including human civilisation. Whether it's a superbug pandemic tomorrow or a supernova sun in billions of years, one day, somehow, the apocalypse will arrive. You and your loved ones should plan on being ready for it this Christmas, and ready for what comes after.

Do you know that one person in your life that carries around massive headphones wherever they go, that has all their music downloaded in lossless FLAC format, and that has a vinyl collection growing faster than the hole in the ozone layer? Here are 10 presents that you can buy for any discerning audiophile to make their Christmas a special one.

Once again, the tireless bargain hunters at Lifehacker have trawled the depths of the internet to find you the best geeky gifts for Christmastime. Whether you're shopping for a gamer, a film buff, an avid reader or a pop culture fanatic, you're going to find plenty of gems in this epic loot guide which covers every budget. We've also included online shopping links for all 60+ products.

We have no shame about all the toys and collectibles we buy, and you shouldn't either. You should have even less shame about giving them to your loved ones this holiday season, because seriously, have you seen most pop culture swag nowadays? Because pop culture swag nowadays is sweet as hell. Here's the proof.

Batman. Spider-Man. Superman. Captain America. Doctor Strange. Et cetera. They're all heroes, and they all have plenty of merchandise which is going to fill gift guides from one corner of the internet to the other. So we thought we'd bring you the other heroes, stories, collectibles, and more for those of you looking to diversify your gift-giving this year.

It's time for you to start all your Christmas shopping. Actually, if you haven't started yet, pick up your game: there's barely a week until Christmas Day. In fact, while you're out shopping, how about you pick something up for us along the way? Here are our editor's picks for some especially weird and wacky Christmas gadgets.

The silly season is here and while for some of us that means eating our body weight in BBQ meat and pavlova, others like to stay active. Here are some rad Christmas gifts for your tech head loved ones who are into fitness and the outdoors.